Tornado Outbreak of June 17, 2021
The June 17, 2021 tornado outbreak and derecho was a violent tornado outbreak and derecho that occurred during the afternoon and evening hours of June 17, 2021. The event occurred across a large portion of the Great Lakes region of the United States, extending eastward to the Atlantic Ocean. The initial tornado outbreak, including the devastating Canton and North Pittsburgh tornadoes, hit areas in extreme southern Michigan, through Ohio, and Western Pennsylvania on the afternoon of June 17th. The Canton tornado was the most destructive, and deadliest tornado of the outbreak, topping at $746 million (USD) in damage, while killing 21 people. 48 people in total were killed by the tornadoes that day, and over 6 million people lost electrical power in the northeast due to the derecho for up to a week. The derecho while followed the tornado outbreak, was the most violent line of thunderstorms observed in the U.S. during the 2021 calendar year according to the National Weather Service review shortly after the year was over. The derecho affected numerous metropolitan areas including that of Baltimore, New York, and Washington. The disturbance which was originally the derecho finally disappeared off the Atlantic coast once off shore around midnight, June 18th. In all, the tornado outbreak and derecho event caused a total of 48 fatalities (35 of which were in Ohio), and a total of $2.1 billion (USD) in damages. State of emergencies were declared for the states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, and Delaware, due to the tornadoes and wind damages which occurred on June 17th. 'Meteorological Synopsis' The upper air pattern was conducive for a major severe weather event in the Great Lakes that Thursday, June 17. An unseasonably deep low pressure system at 987 hPa crossed out of the Midwestern U.S. through the day, and then into Lake Michigan. Very warm air surged in ahead of this system. Temperatures reached the mid-80s in Fahrenheit across much of United States Great Lakes region, in addition to high dew point levels. An unstable atmosphere, which provided surface-based lifted indices around -5, was the byproduct of this. Directional wind shear was also present in the warm sector of the storm, in addition to high helicity values and a vorticity maximum approaching the lower lakes. The situation was worsened by the presence of copious amounts of moisture, which would allow any storms that could form to become severe rather quickly. Also, this was supportive of the high-precipitation counterpart of the supercell thunderstorm. A trough was also noted to be dipping from Lake Superior with winds up to 90 knots in upper levels of the atmosphere. All of this added up to the distinct possibility of severe rotating storms that were messy, hard to see, and extremely dangerous. What was needed now was a trigger, and that came in the form of a trailing cold front behind the low which became more prevalent near the Indiana/Ohio state border. The threat of the forecasted supercells was also predicted to transition into an MCS (mesoscale convective system) by the evening of June 17th, which would wreak havoc from the upper Appalachian Mountains of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia, east-southeast to the Atlantic Coast. As predicted, a small cluster of supercells began to form in southern Michigan and northeast Indiana. Ahead of the developing supercells laid a narrow area of extremely favorable conditions for tornadic activity. Dewpoints had reached the 70ºF's in much of Ohio and stretched eastward as the warm front had pushed its way up through the Great Lakes region. Temperatures had reached the upper 80's across Ohio and Pennsylvania by the early afternoon of June 17th. Columbus, OH recorded a high of 89ºF. Tornadoes began touching down in southern Michigan and northwestern Ohio as the storms raced east-southeastward at around 60 miles per hour. These tornadoes were up the violent intensity, and tended to strike areas not typically prone to tornadoes of such intensity, leading many meteorologists to believe this was the reason for the death total reaching 48 by the end of the outbreak. The tornadoes continued to traverse Ohio and Pennsylvania (7 being fatal), before the supercells began to morph into an MCS, which would go on to produce winds up to 98 miles per hour between the Appalachians and the Atlantic coast. 'Confirmed Tornadoes' 'June 17' Confirmed tornadoes by Enhanced Fujita rating 'Canton, OH tornado' Main article: 2021 Canton, Ohio Tornado On the afternoon of Sunday, June 17, 2021, a large violent EF4 tornado tore across areas in and around the city of Canton, Ohio, with peak winds estimated at 180 mph, killing 21 people and injuring 62 others. The tornado was part of a larger weather system that had produced several other tornadoes across the Great Lake Region of the United States on June 17th. The tornado touched down east of Orrville at 21:40 UTC, and stayed on the ground for 33 minutes over a 34-mile path, crossing directly through the city of Canton and its surrounding suburbs before lifting northeast of Minerva. The tornado was 1/2 mile wide at its peak. The same storm would also go on to produce the North Pittsburgh tornado in Pennsylvania, killing 13 people. 'North Pittsburgh, PA tornado' Main article: 2021 North Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Tornado On the afternoon of Sunday, June 17, 2021, a large violent EF4 tornado tore across the northern suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with peak winds estimated at 170 mph, killing 13 people and injuring 30 others. The tornado was part of a larger weather system that had produced several other tornadoes across the Great Lake Region of the United States on June 17th. The tornado touched down northwest of Moon at 22:54 UTC, and stayed on the ground for 23 minutes over a 26-mile path, crossing through the populated hilly suburbs of Pittsburgh before lifting in Penn Hills. The tornado was 1/3 mile wide at its peak. The same storm previously produced the Canton tornado in Ohio, which killed 21 people. 'Derecho' The derecho formed from a developing low pressure system that moved into the western Great Lakes region of the United States. At the derecho's infancy, winds ranged from 70–90 miles per hour across central and southern Pennsylvania. After the derecho raced through Pennsylvania, tens of thousands of trees were blown down in Maryland, where the derecho produced its strongest winds. There were over 1 million customers without power in the state. Over 100 homes were destroyed or damaged beyond repair. 31 people were injured. The derecho caused $100 million (USD) in damage in the state of Maryland alone. The derecho raced across New Jersey and Delaware. 8 injuries were reported from the derecho over the 2 states, with damages being lesser, yet extensive. Winds at this point were between 70-90 miles per hour. The derecho had weakened some by the time it reached the New York metropolitan area. But the derecho caused over 3 million people to lose power within the city alone Winds were up to 65 miles per hour, and many power lines and traffic lights were reported down in Times Square. Some sources claim that the damage in Times Square was a result of a tornado, but this claim was never confirmed due to a power surge which disabled many doppler radars within close proximity of the said tornado's alleged location. Overall, the derecho traveled 400 miles from central Pennsylvania to the Atlantic coast in 5 hours at an average speed of 65 mph (105 km/h). It became one of the most damaging derecho events in North America's history, causing $270 million (USD) in damage. 'Aftermath' After the tornado outbreak and derecho events, 48 people were dead, and 157 people were injured, as close a 1,000 homes and businesses were destroyed. Many of the homes left uninhabitable. State of emergencies were declared for 6 states, and $2.1 billion (USD) in damage resulted of the storms. 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